Today, I think the attitude is that governing is not necessarily good politics, and the result is that it's much more partisan and much more divided.

The reason we've always had a civilian in that job [Secretary of Defence] is because we really believe that it is policymakers who ought to control the military and not have the military control the military.

I know that young people sometimes, caught up in the moment, make some very foolish decisions.

Iran is isolating itself from the rest of the world.

The one thing that I remember from all of my intelligence briefings and my dealings with the Russians is that when you deal with the Russians, you have to deal with them from strength, not from weakness.

Obama really does recognize the threats that are out there; I think he understands the world. He understands the role of America in that troubled world.

Al Qaeda still remains a threat.